Purest Love
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: The pack has settled into a new normal but a new risk with more rewards than they could ever dream of has come to them. How will their lives change? How will new people change the pack dynamic? Can they deal with a pregnant Mercy? Why am I asking you? Please read and review! /Rated for safety/
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Mercy Thompson Series

Purest Love

The full moon had just set over the horizon and the Colombia Basin pack had gathered back at Adam's home to regroup before heading to their respective homes after the full moon hunt. Adam was speaking with Darryl and Warren so Auriele decided to check in on Adam's mate and daughter. She looked in on Jesse as silently as she could, realized the teen was just fine and quietly exited the room. She then she went on towards Adam's room where his mate Mercedes, aka Mercy, was fast asleep. It wasn't completely unusual for her not to participate in the hunt with the pack as she was a coyote and not a werewolf as they were and since they had new wolves it might have been for the best she stayed home. What concerned Auriele was the reason she had given for staying home. No one would have questioned her if she had said she was staying home since they were teaching new wolves and her being tired wasn't an unusual thing with Mercy, she put in long, hard hours and they knew it. Sure she really didn't need to work but she had said early on that she would go stir crazy if she was just staying home all day.

Auriele and some of the others had noticed that Mercy seemed more fatigued than normal and that she didn't seem to want foods that she usually liked. She had told Jesse that the ramen noodles she normally liked didn't taste right to her and while these symptoms alone weren't that worrisome, Auriele still thought it was a good idea to keep a better watch on her in case they developed into something more serious. She had told Adam of this and he gave her the go ahead as he couldn't always be around his family and if the other werewolves saw a problem he would hope they would follow up on the issue to make sure something wasn't severely wrong with Mercy or Jesse.

As Auriele eased into the master bedroom she noticed a large change in Mercy's scent that had never happened before; it wasn't the usual monthly change. It was different and it took Auriele a few minutes to realize she really wasn't sure what it was. This made her concerned enough that she felt it needed to be brought to Adam's attention as soon as possible in case it was something that needed medical treatment.

Auriele silently slipped out of the room and almost ran into Adam on her way towards the stairwell.

"Is something wrong?" he asked the smell of her fear filling his nose the moment she came within range. This concerned him, the fact that she was coming from checking on Mercy made him even more concerned.

"I'm really not sure, something has changed about Mercy's scent I just can't figure out what it is." She replied doing her best to squash the worst of her fear.

"I'll look into it." Adam replied, "You go get some rest, I'll keep you up to date on what I find out."

Adam went into his bedroom and Auriele left with Darryl. Adam noticed the change in Mercy's scent the moment he took a breath of it. He put on an old pair of sweat pants and t-shirt then climbed into bed to get in a little bit of sleep. He was thankful the full moon fell on a weekend so he could take the next day to rest. When he got closer and started taking in the scent he realized the scent was mildly familiar, it was similar to the scent that had surrounded his ex-wife while she was pregnant. This made him wonder if Mercy was, in fact, pregnant. While it was true they hadn't actually been trying to have a baby, at the same time they weren't taking any particular precautions to guard against it either, so the idea that she might be expecting a baby was a distinct possibility.

"Adam…" Mercy's sleepy voice pulled Adam back to the moment.

"Yes Mercy?" he asked.

"I had Samuel run some tests because I haven't been feeling good lately…"

Mercy must have been able to tell he was getting worried by the way he reacted.

"I'm fine, it's just…" Mercy hesitated and Adam squeezed her gently in hopes to encourage her to continue.

The scent of fear in the air caused him to use some of his influence as the pack alpha and more importantly as her mate to soothe her as she rolled over on her back to look at him.

"…I'm pregnant" she blurted quickly and so softly that, had Adam not been a werewolf, he likely would have had to ask her to repeat herself.

Mercy was shocked when Adam claimed her lips with his own she also felt his powerful arms embrace her as she felt his joy at those words. She began to relax and return his kiss and embrace. They then sat up and Adam pulled her into an embrace.

"Adam…"

"Mercy…" He said as he made eye contact with her for a moment before pulling her in to him again it was obvious he was at a loss for words, and, through their bond, she could tell that wasn't a bad thing. He was overwhelmed with joy at the news of her pregnancy, but that was tempered with worry that she would go through what so many women who tried to have babies by werewolves before her did; it was a fate he didn't want for her.

"I was worried how you would react…" she admitted "… I guess I had nothing to worry about." She chuckled as she snuggled into Adam's muscular chest, her head slipping easily under his chin.

"We're having a baby…" she mused happily then looked at the clock and decided since it was a Saturday and they would both be home that she would rather stay with her husband than go to the garage. She also wondered if working in her garage was even safe for her now. She knew once she got further along it would be impractical and she would have to call Zee in to take her place but she figured she would get to work at least a little while before she was benched for pregnancy.

Later that day the pack gathered for another full moon night when Adam thought it was time to let the pack in on what was going on. He had told Mercy that Auriele was already aware that something wasn't right with Mercy and was concerned, as she didn't know what it was.

Mercy found herself standing in the middle of the room surrounded by the entire pack and nervously began to wring her hands. Jesse was also there and confused as to why she was there when she was never invited to pack meetings.

"Well… I just wanted to let everyone know that…" she hesitated "… That I'm pregnant!"

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I want to thank everyone who brought to my attention the fact that I was spelling Auriele wrong. I realized this fact after I posted chapter one when I began reading Silver Borne and saw how it was actually spelled. I also realized after I posted this that I forgot a step in my editing process so I went back and fixed it

Mercy was shocked when Mary Jo and Jesse suddenly embraced her and the rest of the pack began to congratulate her and Adam on the coming infant. Before she was kidnapped by the fairy queen and stayed missing for a month she would have never dreamed the pack would rally around her the way they did now. Sure some might not like her but it wasn't the outright hostility she had gotten before. She was sure it had something to do with the fact that Henry was no longer around to stir up trouble and fan the flames of hate into anything dangerous to the pack's stability.

The full moon hunts went well; Jessie left for her mother's house at the end of them and the next Monday started normally enough until Mercy got to the garage and Gabriel directed her into the garage bay nervously. She went into the garage bay and found her former boss Siebold "Zee" Adelbertsmiter standing there looking more than a little perturbed for some unknown reason.

"Mercedes Athena Hauptman, how long were you planning on waiting before you called me to tell me you were with child?" he asked in exasperation. Mercy froze she hadn't been three named since she had gotten married to Adam. She groaned and prepared herself for the scolding she was about to get; to have heard him speak you would think he was her dad not her former mentor/boss. She wondered how even knew she was pregnant. The only people that knew were pack members and Samuel. Before she could ask who told him, Gabriel was behind her with questions of his own.

"Are you really pregnant, Mercy?" he asked.

"Yes, Gabriel I am," She replied thankful for the momentary distraction from Zee's disapproving scowl.

"Congratulations." Gabriel smiled warmly giving her a gentle hug. She would have to remind the men around her, probably often, that just because she was pregnant, didn't mean she was suddenly made of glass (no more than the wolves already had to treat her that way for her own safety).

"Never mind…" Zee huffed as Gabriel let her go.

"Do you know how many substances in this place are potentially harmful to you and that little one in your belly?" Zee asked after several moments of her not answering his earlier question "Too many, you should have called me when you found out you were expecting and I would have come to take over for you!"

Mercy looked at the floor awkwardly and Zee took a deep breath to make himself calm down.

"I'm really happy for you, _Liebling_." Zee said the scolding edge leaving his tone and he began to sound more like a proud, if slightly disappointed father than an angry former boss. "I know it had to be shocking to learn of this and perhaps I was being a little too critical, you're still trying to come to terms with it yourself."

She nodded and was slightly caught off guard when he hugged tenderly then informed her that anything more involved than changing a headlight or taillight should be left to him until she was cleared by a physician to return to full work. He sent a now glowering Mercy into the office with Gabriel.

Mercy glared at Gabriel who put his hands up in a surrender position while not making eye contact with her and practically giving her his neck in surrender. It was a wise move to use with werewolves and he needed to remember it if he ever wanted to go anywhere romantically with Adam's daughter, Jesse. Knowing when to not challenge an alpha werewolf was a good bit of knowledge to have; knowing when to surrender to one was even better. It showed he was listening to her when she taught him how to behave around dominant werewolves, she figured that was a good sign that he had a chance at impressing Adam and getting a chance to date Jesse.

"I didn't know about your pregnancy so I couldn't tell him, I got in this morning and he was here." Gabriel said. "Do you think Samuel could have said something?"

"I know." Mercy replied giving Gabriel's shoulder a squeeze as Gabriel let his arms fall to his sides as he looked at her. Mercy thought about what Gabriel suggested

"As a doctor that would be illegal, but as my surrogate older brother that sounds like something he would do. He would know that actually working on cars wouldn't be good for me and he would know it would take someone like Zee or Bran to stop me."

'Now to figure out how to tell Stefan, and Bran,' she thought to herself as she started on some paperwork. Then the phone rang, it was Erin, she was a rather new member of Stefan's menagerie that took over Naomi's job after Naomi passed away and Stefan got over the depression that followed her death. Stefan would be bringing the bus to the shop apparently something happened and the radiator was now leaking. She dutifully passed word to Zee after letting Erin know that, for medical reasons, she would not be working on Stefan's bus in the upcoming future but she would be there to accept the bus from Stefan.

That night about 9 pm Stefan arrived to see Mercy waiting for him. Instantly he noticed something was different about her. He soon realized she had a slight increase in blood volume for unknown reasons. Her posture was also different and she seemed even more exhausted than he would have expected her to look at that hour.

"Mercy, are you okay?" he asked worry edging into his tone.

"I'm fine, Stefan." She replied.

"Mercedes…" Stefan drew out her name in a show of his skepticism of her words. "That is a lie, what is wrong?" his words weren't scolding in any way it was just him stating a fact.

"I'm fine, Stefan, really… it's just…" Mercy hesitated "… I'm almost 3 weeks pregnant."

Stefan looked stunned, that made sense; the extra blood volume would be to nourish her unborn child. The change in her scent came from the change in hormones associated with pregnancy, he was sure the werewolves started to notice the change as well and she had probably already informed the pack that their Alpha would have a second child soon if everything went well.

Mercy was shocked when she was embraced by the peculiar vampire.

"Congratulations, Mercy" his voice colored with the energetic happiness she often associated with Stefan.

"I had wondered what medical reason you had for not working on the bus… but this is a very valid reason… you do not wish to risk the life of your child. Women who conceive by werewolves have enough risk without exposing themselves to potentially harmful chemicals."

Mercy nodded; Stefan's cool skin against her cheek a welcome change from the oppressive heat that seemed to haunt the area.

"Mercy I want you to know that if you need ANYTHING just call me and I will do whatever I can to help you." Stefan promised before releasing her "I vow to you on my honor that I will do anything within my abilities to see that you and your coming child remain safe."

"Stefan…" she was going to protest that he didn't have to vow this to her but his glare effectively cut her off before she could say more than his name.

Zee watched from inside the garage bay, he might not have liked Stefan (or any vampire for that matter) but even the old gremlin could see that Stefan cared for Mercy and had long realized that the vampire was no threat to his former charge.

"Thank you" she replied simply. She was sure Adam wouldn't like her turning to the vampire for anything, as that would mean he wasn't doing his job effectively but the fact that his aid was even offered was flattering to say the least.

"You can wish me luck; I still haven't told Bran that I'm pregnant." She laughed slightly "and I get the feeling I'm going to have several werewolves fussing over me way to much before this pregnancy is over."

"I am sure the Marrok will be happy to hear of your coming child." Stefan said releasing her from the embrace. "and the wolves just want to see you have a healthy child, their instinct is to protect, and you should know that, Mercedes."

Mercy sighed, Stefan had a point, it was their instinct to keep their own safe from harm especially when that individual can't protect himself or herself. To ask them to do anything else would be asking them to defy their very instincts.

Zee had kept a watchful eye on Stefan for a few minutes until he realized that Mercy was perfectly safe with Stefan. He then went back to his current task that was really an excuse for him to be at the garage when Stefan arrived.

Stefan left and Mercy brought the keys to the bus inside and tagged them so they would keep track of them, not that they really needed to, but it was always better to be safe.

The next day Mercy sighed and resigned herself to the fact that it was best she let Bran know sooner rather than later of her coming child. She was sure he would want to come see her and make sure she was doing okay. She was also certain he would want to be around when she gave birth. The Marrok had always treated her as if she was his own daughter and she loved him dearly for that fact. It had been part of what kept her alive in the Marrok pack; when she was sure many of his wolves would have been happy enough to kill her.

Mercy called Bran's cell phone in hopes of not having to convince his mate, Leah, to hand him the phone, not that he wouldn't take it from her the moment he heard who on the other end, it was just she really didn't feel like dealing with the witch of a woman Bran called his mate.

 _"_ _Hello, Mercy to what do I owe this pleasure?"_ he asked. She had a good feeling he suspected trouble was afoot and decided to squash that assumption first.

"No trouble, Bran… I actually…" she started to get nervous. "I… actually I have some good news for you."

Bran could tell through Mercy's nerves that she was telling the truth.

 _"_ _What is it?"_

"Bran…. I… I'm pregnant."

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Bran almost dropped the phone when Mercy told him she was pregnant. He could remember when she said she would never date/marry a werewolf and he was sure she had said, at some point, she didn't plan to have children either. To now know that she was married to a werewolf, and alpha no less, and expecting his child was a pleasant shock to Bran. Then he remembered the chances of the child surviving weren't in Mercy's favor, even as a Walker mercy was still human in many ways. He forced that thought from his mind in order to try to be happy for Mercy.

"How is Adam taking all of this?" he asked.

" _He's more protective of me than ever."_ She replied.

"That's to be expected, Mercy, you're his mate and you're carrying his child… if you weren't one of the most valuable people in his world before you just became so."

" _True,"_ she sighed. Bran could tell she was nervous about the pregnancy. She knew the statistics as well as anyone and deep inside she feared that her first pregnancy would end up one of those statistics.

Several days passed and Adam was looking into ways he could make Mercy's pregnancy easier when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number but he answered it anyway.

"Hauptman…"

" _Dad… I want to come home…"_ Jesse's distraught voice came from the other end and Adam could feel the anger begin to build at her distressed tone.

"Jesse, what happened…" he asked forcing down his wolf "… what's wrong? Where are you?"

" _Dad, promise me you'll try to keep your wolf under control."_ She said.

"Jesse…" Adam trailed off not understanding where this was coming from.

" _Promise me, dad, please, promise me!"_ she begged sounding as if she could break into sobs at any second. He could tell it was bad and he already had to force his wolf down, as all it wanted to do was to get to Jesse and protect her.

"I'll do my best… that's all I can offer"

" _Mom's latest man decided to put his hands on me and I ran away…"_

"He put his hands on you how?" Adam asked his anger rising.

" _The way you told me an older man shouldn't touch me… he's been doing it since I got there… mom wouldn't listen to me!"_ she replied tears evident in her voice. " _I told her what he was doing and… and she called me a liar dad!_ "

Adam had to calm himself down before he broke the receiver. Of all the things that had happened over the years this was the worst and he was stunned that Christy would accuse her daughter of making this up.

"Jesse where are you?" he asked for the third time.

" _I… I'm at the bus depot in Walla Walla and I'm out of money."_ She replied. _"Dad I just want to come home!" she sobbed._

"It's okay Jesse you'll be home soon." He promised her, his voice soft though his expression held the promise of violence.

Mercy came into Adam's home office as she felt his distress though she didn't know what was causing it.

"Adam what's wrong?" she asked feeling that the muscles of his shoulders were like steel under his skin.

"Someone hurt Jesse." He replied as she noticed his eyes had gone from their usual chocolate brown to bright gold.

Mercy took the phone from Adam who was trying to shove his wolf down with little success.

"Jesse what is going on?" she asked calmly

Jesse told her exactly what happened and Mercy was furious.

"Jesse exactly where are you, I'm going to call a friend to get you."

" _Who, Mercy, it's so late."_ Jesse asked fearfully.

Jesse sat under the payphone hugging her knees with tears falling down her cheeks as she waited for her ride to pick her up. She had heard her father's wolf take control as she told him what had happened and she was afraid someone could get hurt. She was sure Mercy had called Samuel in when Adam began to lose control but she wasn't sure who would arrive to get her. Mercy had mentioned two names, Siebold "Zee" Adelbertsmiter a Fae from the local reservation that was a very good friend of Mercy's or Stefan a vampire from the Tri-cities seethe who went out that way from time to time to 'hunt'. She had told Jesse how to recognize either of them and that she completely trusted both men. Jesse had almost fallen asleep from exhaustion when she heard a vehicle come to a stop in front of her. She then felt a cool hand on her neck and realized the vampire must have been the one to heed the call to action, she would later learn that Mercy had been unable to get ahold of Zee; she figured he was likely at Uncle Mike's and thus didn't hear his phone. Zee would later confirm this and apologize profusely for not being available at a time of urgent need.

Jesse looked up as Stefan knelt in front of her his cartoon t-shirt and ripped jeans as far from what she had expected a vampire to wear as was possible.

"Let's get you home, little one." he said gently.

"You're Stefan, right?" she asked noticing the brightly painted van behind him.

"Yes." He replied simply as he guided her to her feet.

"Thank you." She said not looking Stefan directly in the eyes as Mercy had instructed her, she also remember it was okay to say 'thank you' to Stefan but not to Zee or any other Fae for that matter.

"No problem." He replied as he opened the passenger door of his VW van for her. She got in and put on her seatbelt out of habit.

Stefan started back towards Kennewick, driving at a slower speed than he normally would, not that he couldn't drive perfectly safe at high speed it was just if anything happened to Jesse while he was responsible for her, it would have been his head when her werewolf father got a hold of him. He looked at her as he stopped at a red light and realized that she had fallen asleep, her temple pressed against the window. She didn't look good and he was sure Adam wouldn't be thrilled with that or the dark circles under her eyes. He allowed himself to briefly wonder how long it had been since she had a decent meal or night sleep before the light turned green and he was off again.

Adam wasn't so sure about trusting a vampire to bring Jesse home but the truth was Stefan had been their best option; most of the wolves in the pack were affected when he lost his temper and Samuel was needed to help him get his wolf under control. That had left him with few options of who to send to get Jesse. He could have sent Mercy but the truth was that was risky in its own right, she was a coyote and even with her ties to the Columba Basin pack as the mate to their alpha it didn't afford her much protection outside their territory. It was likely few would touch her for fear of causing a war or getting the Marrok involved but that was a risk Adam and Samuel weren't willing to take. For a vampire that bus station was neutral territory, Stefan had actually gotten a few of his menagerie from there so it was obviously safe for him to be there. There was also the fact that Mercy trusted Stefan whole-heartedly and if she trusted him there was no reason for Adam not to at least give him a chance.

It was close to midnight when the Volkswagen bus pulled up in front of the house and Stefan got out then moved to the passenger side to get out Jesse who was still half-asleep. Adam went outside, took Jesse out of Stefan's arms, and started back towards the house. Samuel stood near the door to make sure Adam didn't lose his fragile control at seeing his daughter in the arms of a vampire. He was surprised when Adam told Mercy that she had his permission to invite the vampire in if he decided he wanted to come inside. It wasn't the fact that the invitation was necessary that surprised Samuel, it was the fact that Adam was open to allowing the invitation to be given. Samuel would later learn that Adam knew how to revoke that invitation should he find it necessary to do so.

Adam headed upstairs to Jesse's bedroom and Stefan joined them on the porch.

"How are you feeling, Mercy?" Stefan asked.

"As well as can be expected, I guess." She replied with a shrug as she leaned her shoulder against the doorframe. She had been experiencing some morning sickness the past few days and Samuel had just gotten them in touch with a good obstetrician, whom they had an appointment with in two days.

"You should probably be resting then, not out here with me." Stefan replied. Samuel figured he could tell Mercy was exhausted and agreed with the vampire, Mercy needed to be in bed but there was no deterring her from being awake to greet Jesse.

Adam returned.

"Come inside, all of you, and yes that is an invitation for you Stefan." He said curtly, obviously his wolf had eased at seeing feeling Jesse in his arms.

"On your invitation," Stefan said as he entered the house.

They all went inside and Adam pulled Mercy aside and gave her a gentle kiss and whispered that he would be up to bed shortly and that she should go ahead to get some sleep. Mercy embraced Adam, said her goodnights then headed upstairs to their bedroom. Samuel doubted Mercy would fall asleep until Adam was up there with her though, but it wouldn't hurt to get her off her feet and into bed.

"Thank you, Stefan for taking the time to go get my daughter." Adam sighed it was becoming clear that he was no longer at risk of losing control of his wolf and soon Samuel would be okay to leave.

"It was no problem." Stefan replied a relaxed smile on his features, he had been unsure at first as to why Adam invited him in, but the gratitude in Adams voice told him that they had only meant to be polite and show some gratitude for what he had done.

"I hope everything goes well and if you ever find yourself in need of my help again feel free to call me." Stefan said

"Thank you." Adam nodded.

"It is no problem, I would also like to be kept informed of Mercy's condition if that is not too much to ask… she is like a sister to me and I worry about her."

Adam seemed to think about this for a moment then affirmed that he would let Stefan know should her condition change, and what they were having once they knew. "Thank you, Adam, you have a good night." Stefan said and started out the door.

"Good night, Stefan." Adam replied.

Samuel also said his goodbye, but then stopped.

"I know what Stefan said and maybe that's true but you know me, Adam she is my sister in everything but DNA and I want to be kept informed of her condition" Samuel said.

"I know, Samuel and you will be informed." Adam replied.

"Okay, good night." Samuel nodded and he too left to go home.

Adam went upstairs and looked in on his daughter then went to be with his mate.

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Jesse and Mercy were home alone the next full moon after Jesse's arrival. The female wolves had been trying to convince Adam it would be perfectly safe for Mercy to turn into her coyote and join them in the hunt, as she wanted to do, but he still wasn't sure so she remained with Jesse watching movies as neither could sleep for the howling of the wolves.

"Mercy, can I ask you a question?" Jesse asked nervously.

Mercy paused the movie, and looked at Jesse the smell of the teen girl's fear apparent to her.

"What would you like to know?" Mercy replied, under any other circumstances she might have made a joke but something told Mercy this wasn't the time for joking.

Jesse hesitated.

"Jesse, you know you can ask me anything," Mercy told her.

"I know, Mercy it's just… this seems weird to ask." Jesse trailed off "C… Can I call you mom… I mean, you've been more of a mother to me than my real mother and…"

Mercy hugged Jesse in her arms overwhelmed by Jesse even wanting to refer to her as her mother. She had often been concerned about the relationship she had with Jesse as it felt like she didn't get a lot of time with the younger girl.

It had only taken a few days to get Jesse's things shipped back to her father's home with the aid of the Marrok and local pack. It also wasn't difficult to get Jesse enrolled in the local high school.

"Of course you can." Mercy replied "But… Jesse what brought this on?" Mercy asked as she moved to look Jesse in the eye.

"I don't know… it's just… last night I was lying in bed after that nightmare…" Jesse broke eye contact and looked at the floor to her right "how you stayed with me until I fell asleep even though you didn't have to and I didn't ask you to… it… it kind of made me wish you were actually my mother instead of Christy. I don't think even if I had asked her to do that she would have… maybe she would have but she wouldn't have liked it. I… I didn't even have to ask you to stay with me; you just did because you care about me."

Mercy's heart plummeted into her stomach as Jesse spoke of a moment in time that she herself hadn't given a second thought to when it happened. Staying in that room with Jesse had just been what Mercy thought the younger girl needed at the time. The fact that, the way Jesse spoke, made her believe Jesse's biological mother wouldn't have done that made Mercy hate the other woman that much more.

Adam had gone through Kyle to find a lawyer and was in the process of filing for full custody of Jesse, now the case looked very good as they could not locate Jesse's biological mother. Especially after Jesse confessed to running away from her mother's home under the cover of night while her mother was home to go into the teen's room and realize she was gone but she was only reported missing when the local pack alpha called children's protective services. He hadn't seen any sign of life from the house in twenty-four hours and it looked as if fowl play was involved.

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The next day Adam went to speak with Samuel and Zee to find out what they knew about Walker transformations and if it was safe for Mercy to transform during her pregnancy.

"I see no reason that this would be dangerous, Walker transformations are peaceful but she probably won't be able to transform for much longer as the baby gets larger." Zee said the old Fae seemed a wealth of knowledge on the preternatural, including Walkers such as Mercy.

"Let her transform and run with your wolves, she'd love it." Zee said.

Adam turned to Samuel for any medical knowledge he could throw into the pot.

"I agree with Zee on this one, Mercy's coyote transformation isn't nearly as violent as our werewolf transformations, I'd want to look at her after she returns to her human form but as far as I can tell there is no reason she shouldn't be allowed to run and hunt as a coyote." Samuel added, "It would probably do her some good, she's not used to going this long without running as a coyote… what, hasn't it been nearly two months since she transformed?"

"Something like that," Adam replied.

"Let her go… if you're worried about predators or hunters run with her." Samuel suggested.

"I can't… Jesse needs me right now."

Samuel sighed, "You still haven't told me what happened to her." That was in reference to Jesse and all three men knew it.

Zee sighed, "I'll let you wolves hash this out" he said, "I need to get back to Mercy's garage."

"Zee you know we appreciate you doing this for Mercy." Adam stated, he, like Mercy was well aware of how to go about thanking a Fae without saying something to a Fae that one shouldn't. No one had asked Zee to take over the garage for Mercy during her pregnancy, really no one had to, the moment Zee learned she was pregnant he had volunteered to take the position and wouldn't let anyone talk him out of it.

"Don't mention it; I'm just glad Mercy is happy." Zee replied. Adam knew the old Fae would never admit it, but he loved Mercy like a daughter and would move heaven and Earth if necessary to keep her safe and that included getting in her face from time to time as he believed it necessary to remind the stubborn coyote she wasn't as tough as she thought she was.

"Then see if one of the pack members will run with her, I know Warren, Darryl or any of the girls would run with Mercy anytime they can." Samuel pointed out "Heck I'd run with her if you don't mind it."

Adam seemed relieved that the topic of conversation had left Jesse and went back to Mercy, but his luck ran out when Samuel asked what happened to Jesse again.

"The man her mother was dating started touching Jesse inappropriately and apparently even after Jesse told her mother two or three times what was being done to her Christy didn't believe her so Jesse ran away. She called me from Walla Walla and you know the rest."

"Adam I kind of wanted more detail than that." Samuel sighed aggravated that he was getting the same story he had heard when he found out Jesse was coming home so soon after leaving for her mother's house.

"What is there to say she hasn't told me much about what that bastard did to her, I think she's told Mercy but good luck getting Mercy to tell you anything." Adam sighed "It's the unknown about this that has me worried, what all did he do to her? His scent was all over her when she got home… you noticed that. I mean I know she isn't pregnant or anything, but I'd still like to know what was done to her. That boy Gabriel tapped her on the shoulder and she damn near had a panic attack!"

Samuel sighed "It has to be hard, Adam, she's your daughter your instinct is to protect her."

"Yeah, and I can't protect her if I don't know what I'm protecting her from."

Samuel could see the worry eating at Adam. He understood the powerless feeling Adam had at that moment and wished there was more he could do to help but there was nothing that could be done until Jesse opened up about her ordeal.

"Adam this isn't easy for you and it won't be for a while but just give Jesse time, she'll talk to you when she's ready." Samuel sighed.

Adam's phone rang and he answered it with a curt "Hauptman…"

Samuel tried not to listen but the voice of Adam's lawyer got his attention right away.

" _The judge wants me to inform you that she has ruled this abandonment and now has a warrant out for Christy detailing that she is wanted for the abandonment and endangerment of a minor. She also wanted me to inform you that she's granting you full custody of your daughter, congratulations Mr. Hauptman, I know this isn't how we wanted it to go, but this is a victory for us and Jesse. I also wanted to let you know we picked up Christy's boyfriend I know you told me that you pressed charges on him for molesting Jesse, turn out he was wanted on other child sex offenses including rape. I don't know if Christy knew this when she brought Jesse into the house with him but he is a registered sex offender._ "

Samuel's heart plummeted into his stomach and a knot of rage formed in his throat at those words.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Rape

The word was like acid on Adam's tongue, Mercy had been raped almost a year earlier, he couldn't stand the thought that his daughter went through the same horror his wife had. It had been days before she could even let him kiss her after her rape, months before they could solidify their mate bond with lovemaking. He had feared for a while that she would never be able to let him do that but now she had finally put it all behind her and could find pleasure in the act again.

The lawyer explained that the attacker's M.O. didn't often include vaginal sex, he preferred other types of sex and if he did target that part it was usually with an object and not his penis. These words did little to calm Adam's wolf any; it had wanted to protect Jesse, its pup, at any costs and now thought itself a failure as Jesse had been harmed.

Samuel pushed just enough of his energy to help Adam gain control of his wolf as he hung up the phone before it caused a cascade through the pack. Samuel figured it had already caused issues when Warren came banging on his door demanding to know what had Adam riled up. Samuel explained to the best of his ability what had just happened and Warren began to settle down. He told them the only reason it was him instead of Mercy is they didn't want to risk Adam accidentally hurting her because they all knew he would never be able to live with himself if he hurt his mate or somehow caused her to miscarry their child. Darryl and Auriele had stayed with Mercy to make sure no one else in the pack caused problems for her though the longer she was part of the pack and Henry wasn't, the more it seemed precautions like that weren't necessary. She was learning to use her authority over the wolves and that often kept the lower ranking wolves at bay. She was friends with the higher-ranking ones.

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Adam stayed until late in the evening when his phone rang. A distressed Mercy on the other end telling him he needed to come home, that Jesse needed him. Adam didn't have to tell Samuel why he was leaving as the older wolf heard everything.

"I'm coming too." Samuel informed him.

"No!" Adam replied harshly.

"Adam you're control is tentative at best, I'm more dominant; if you lose control you're going to need me to stop you." Samuel argued and Adam gave up trying to keep Samuel out, he was right.

They arrived at Adam's home and the smell of fear hit them as soon as they got in the door. Adam ran further in to find Jesse curled up on the couch crying.

Adam barely managed to swallow the knot that had formed in his throat in order to speak "Jesse…" he barely recognized his own voice.

"Dad…!"

Jesse threw herself into his arms sobbing uncontrollably and all Adam could do was hold her a low, comforting sound began to come from the back of his throat as his wolf joined in trying to calm Jesse down.

Mercy came in with what smelled like a cup of cocoa but stopped when she saw Adam holding a sobbing Jesse.

"She had a nightmare and woke up only to have a severe panic attack." She explained, as Adam picked Jesse up and moved to sit on the couch with her curled up in his lap. Jesse hid her face in the side of her father's neck and continued to sob as Adam began to rock back and forth continuing his attempt to soothe her. Soon Jesse calmed and Samuel who had disappeared for a moment came back with a glass of water that he handed Jesse who took a few sips.

"What brought this on?" Adam asked as Jesse rested her head against his shoulder her sobs replaced with a minor case of the hiccups. A long sip of water solved that issue.

"It was a really bad dream." She replied.

"What about…?" Adam prodded gently.

Jesse hesitated but soon the words came flooding out about how her mom's boyfriend forced her to perform oral sex on him, her hands cuffed behind her back so she couldn't fight him as she was prone to do but at the same time his hands were free to touch her however he wanted. Then she spoke of the dream where he pushed her on her bed and used cylindrical object that Jesse hadn't recognized to rape her. That had been what made her run away, and Adam realized that was why his scent was all over Jesse by the way she described how he restrained her. He wanted to tear the man apart but that would do no one any good, Jesse needed him outside of prison, as did Mercy and their unborn child.

"Samuel can you call your father and tell him I won't be available any time in the near future, I have to take care of my family." Adam said his focus still firmly on Jesse.

Samuel passed the word along and Bran agreed that it was a good idea if they wanted to keep painting Adam as the devoted husband and father that he stay home when his child and wife both need him there. The panel would understand, they all knew Mercy was pregnant and that Adam was fighting for custody of his daughter thus the Alpha of the H-Town pack in Houston, Texas had stepped up to take pressure off of Adam. This Alpha, at first, had not recognized Adam or his name, but after going through some old photos realized that they had served together in Vietnam and volunteered to Bran in order to give Adam more time with his mate when word got out that she was pregnant.

Samuel also let Bran know that Adam had won full custody of Jesse and soon after Bran's congratulations the call ended.

Adam got a phone call from one of the men from the panel after word got out.

"Adam I hope everything gets better for you soon, we missed you here."

"I know, but my daughter needs me more right now, she was hurt pretty bad emotionally."

"Yeah, Bran told us things weren't good over there." The man replied "What happened?"

"I'm not going to go into details, but my ex-wife and her boyfriend are wanted in connection to the events and I now have full custody of my daughter."

"I heard you remarried will your new wife be getting any custody of your existing child."

Adam calmly replied that they had not discussed that yet and really didn't feel that fact concerned anyone outside of his pack. The congressman backtracked and admitted he understood wanting to keep his family business private.

He got off the phone, put it on the table then turned his full attention to Jesse. She needed his undivided attention at that moment. He could hear Warren on the phone with Darryl but ignored them right now Jesse was what was important, anything/anyone else could wait.

Samuel heard the anger in Darryl's voice as Warren filled him in on what was happening. Both men agreed that they would have to do whatever they could to take pressure off Adam while he dealt with this situation.

Mercy had joined Adam in caring for Jesse, she had told Samuel after she found out she was pregnant she wasn't sure she could be a mother, but watching her with Jesse made Samuel think differently. Sure Mercy was as hard headed as they come but she could also be compassionate when the moment called for it.

To Be Continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Auriele arrived early to get ready for the hunt she had planned with the other pack females. It wasn't uncommon for small groups to get together and bond over a hunt but Auriele had made it clear she still really didn't like that Mercy was part of the pack as she was. She wouldn't have cared so much had she just been Adam's mate but she was in the pack bond as well which made things interesting to say the least. The truth was Auriele was getting used to the coyote being a part of the pack it was strange at first but she found it was growing on her. It had been easier for everyone to cope with Mercy's presence once Henry was out of the picture.

Auriele got to the living room to see Mercy sitting with Jesse leaning on her shoulder. Auriele remembered Darryl telling her what had been happening lately, Jesse was having night terrors a few of which lead to major panic attacks, thus why her father was not taking any trips to the capital, he had come to the decision he was needed more at home and everyone seemed more than happy to respect his decision.

Jesse slipped off to bed and Auriele joined Mercy on the couch.

"I was really surprised you agreed to this, Auriele." Mercy sighed leaning back on the arm of the couch looking more tired than Auriele had seen her in a while and Auriele was tempted to call the other girls and tell them that she wanted to postpone. The problem was they weren't sure how much longer Mercy would be able to call on her coyote form.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Auriele asked purposely-ignoring Mercy's question.

"I'm fine, I'll be better once we get going." Mercy replied.

Auriele could tell that Mercy believed that to be true, they would have to wait and see if it was actually true or not.

Mary Jo and Honey arrived a few minutes later with rumors of a lone female werewolf skirting the edge of their territory. They didn't give the rumor much credence as female lone wolves weren't allowed to exist, but there was always the lingering questions about the possibility of a hidden new wolf that no one was aware of or a dominant male that had decided to create a new pack without Bran's knowledge or approval. They also couldn't forget the kid that had showed up on Mercy's doorstep, he had been turned and then sold for experimentation on, could she have been created the same way for the same purpose and, like him, escaped. They wouldn't know until they found out if she was even real or not.

Auriele noticed that Mercy had gotten a shocking burst of energy once her shift was complete. The wolves had often expressed a tiny bit of jealousy at Mercy's easy transformation compared to their own, which often felt as if every bone in their body was breaking at the same time and took forever. She was yawning off the last of the post change tingles when the wolves finished their change and she didn't start changing until several minutes after they did.

The hunt went well and Mercy found it slightly shocking that she was given choice as to what she ate. She wasn't sure what to do so she let her coyote tell her what was best for her to consume. None of the wolves dared to challenge her when she picked what she wanted which still left plenty from the kill to satisfy the three of them. Her coyote didn't eat nearly as much as the wolves that surrounded her.

The wolves had finished their meal and joined Mercy in laying in the moonlight. She had started to shiver in the fall air since her winter coat had not fully come in so Honey curled around her to warm her. Mercy had put her head on her paws, tail covering her nose and was half-asleep when the wolves all noticed something moving around the outside of their clearing. Auriele stood and got between whatever was lurking around and Mercy letting whatever was there know she was the most dominant in the group and would not let harm come to the group. The truth was Mercy outranked her but they doubted a coyote would be taken seriously by a werewolf or even a stray wolf.

A werewolf built about like Honey but lighter in weight, they figured she was underfed, eased out into the clearing, it stayed low and sniffed at the carcass of the pack's kill as if hoping to find some scrap of food left. Mercy noticed the young wolf's actions and more shockingly her color, which she would have described as a steel blue accented with white on the muzzle, tip of the tail and all four paws. The center of her back had a dark, almost black mark that looked like a saddle. Auriele issued a challenge to which the newcomer only stayed in for a few moments before he/she surrendered and fell into a submissive position belly and neck exposed to Auriele. At that they realized this was a female and likely the mythic lone female.

The other wolves were nervous about letting Mercy near the other wolf but she stayed in her submissive position without flinching as Mercy sniffed her.

Auriele used her influence to make the young female follow her and they all noticed that she favored her front right limb as she walked.

Adam was outside when they arrived, heavy one wolf. Adam had been aware of the possibility of a lone female on the outskirts of his territory; he had noticed her scent during the last full moon hunt where she had crossed into his territory following her prey; he had been searching to find her and was stunned when the girls brought her in to him. He stood from his seat on the porch and became worried when the lone wolf scuttled backwards in fear at realizing he was an alpha wolf but a tree blocked her escape. Her hackles went up and her lip curled up and away from her teeth in a panicked snarl. Adam recognized fear based aggression the moment he saw it, and used his mate bond to tell Mercy to go inside and was slightly surprised when she obeyed him without question. He wondered if she recognized the risk this wolf posed to her and her unborn child as well.

"That's enough!" Adam said firmly to the new wolf, His own three coming to stand behind him so he could deal with the new arrival.

After a tense standoff that took several minutes the female surrendered giving Adam her neck and belly, she was strong but he was more dominant and she was forced to surrender to his authority even though it was clear she was terrified to do so. Adam ordered his trio inside and took a seat by the new arrival who cowered in fear from his touch.

"Hey, no need for that, I'm not going to hurt you." He said his voice taking on a soothing tone.

The female rolled over onto her belly and eased up to Adam's thigh but she was still tense as a steel spring, ready to run at the first sign of danger.

"You've never been in a pack have you… not a decent one anyway." He said the look on her features told him he was right.

"How about we change that?" he suggested gently.

To Be Continued…


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: First I want to go ahead and thank Chaytons Angel for all of the wonderful comments thus far, you have inspired me to keep writing and making this story the best I can and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

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The scent of fear caught Adam off guard as he gently rubbed the face of the grey-blue werewolf at his side.

"It's not that bad, I promise." He told her gently.

She gave him a skeptical look as Honey came out with a sweat suit for her to put on when she returned to her human form. It wasn't that werewolves were in anyway body conscious, but this was a new wolf and she might still be a little modest.

"How about you transform so we can talk?" Adam suggested hoping that she could at least do that on her own. He could help her but it wouldn't be easy since he didn't know her very well.

There was some hesitation but soon she transformed into her human form. She seemed unfazed by the fact that she was standing in front of him nude. The fact that she transformed unaided was a relief to Adam, it meant she could initiate the change by herself.

Adam guessed she was in her mid-twenties her skin was dark and her hair was chocolate brown, though Adam had a feeling it might be dyed as her roots were coming out jet black, and hung down to the middle of her shoulder blades. Her facial features tended towards the Native American definition of beauty and he began to wonder what tribe her line came from.

"How long have you been a werewolf?" he asked.

"Less than three months," She replied.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Nicolette Garza,"

Adam noticed that she stood rigid straight in front of him.

"At ease…" he told her and she relaxed into parade rest.

"You're military aren't you?" he asked after watching her assume parade rest stance without being instructed to do so.

"Retired…" she replied.

"What rank?"

"Corpsman Second Class… I've only been retired eight months"

"How did you become a werewolf?"

"I can't tell you a whole lot about the moment the attack happened," she sighed as she put the sweats on. "I was blinded in Iraq when my Humvee hit an IED, that's why I retired so early had that not happened I likely would have made a career of the Navy."

Adam bit back a swear word as it was clear that she had been happy enough in the Navy and now, as a werewolf, she would never be able to return to that life. He then inquired as to her experience in a pack.

"I've never had one, I… I was transformed and once I healed I…" her voice trailed as her thoughts returned to the dark days that came after her Change.

"They experimented on you, didn't they?" he asked his voice compassionate but his eyes showing the promise of violence.

"Yes" she replied looking up only slightly at him "this guy claimed to be an alpha wolf but he was no more a wolf than I'm a Fae." She had abandoned her parade rest stance was hugging herself and rubbing her arms with her hands as if she were cold.

"So not an Alpha wolf," Adam assumed.

"No," she replied, "I want to join your pack but I 'm nervous."

"Don't worry about it; you'll fit in fine here." He said giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"You think so?"

"Yes," he replied as Mercy entered the room.

"Is this the new wolf?" Mercy asked.

"Yes," Adam replied then introduced the two women to each other then asked Mercy to make Darryl and Warren aware of the new member joining the pack in case something goes wrong.

Nicolette was nervous she had no idea what she would be expected to do to join the pack; she knew it was some form of magic but as far as how it worked she didn't know.

Warren was in the hot tub with Kyle when the call came for a pack meeting.

"Warren what's going on?" Kyle asked in concern.

"It's nothing to worry about, just a new wolf petitioning to join the pack." Warren replied as he dried off and dressed. Kyle watched him without getting out of the tub. His arms were rested on the edge of the tub as he waited to learn what was to come out of this call.

"So we're looking at something good not bad?" Kyle assumed but it came out as more of a question than a statement.

"Yes," Warren gave Kyle a quick kiss "I'll be back."

Warren arrived at Adam's house along with several other pack members. He figured this gathering would be large given the fact that it was a rather late hour meaning more wolves were free to come in for the meeting and greeting of a new pack member.

He got deeper in the house and his nose picked up the scent of the new wolf, which was marred with the scent of fear.

"What's wrong?" he asked her gently.

"I don't know… I'm just nervous…" she replied not looking at Warren's face.

"Never been part of a pack before," Warren asked but really it had sounded more like a statement than a question.

"No," she replied "I've only been a werewolf for a few months."

"Warren, can you go over the ceremony with her?" Mercy asked quickly as they were filling the other wolves in on what brought Nicolette to their doorstep and to petition to join this pack.

Warren guided Nicolette away from the rest and to a relatively quiet place to talk. They moved through the introduction rather quickly and he got to work going over what she was expected to do and say. Nicolette listened intently to what Warren taught her and found that it didn't seem as intimidating or complex in practice as it had seemed in her mind. She also noticed that the wolf in front of her had a way of setting her mind at ease.

Not too long after that Nicolette found herself standing in front of Adam, the edges of the room lined with members of the pack. The man to Adam's right, she assumed was his second, and she noticed Warren to Adam's left, he gave her a reassuring smile which calmed her nerves, if only marginally.

Other pack members noticed her nervousness but ignored it, this was common for wolves who had never been a part of a pack before. The magic was building in the room this was her moment. Mercy was standing nearby in case Nicolette forgot any part of her script.

"Look me in the eye with no offense taken or meant, Nicolette Ann Garza" Adam spoke.

"I see you, Adam Alexander Hauptman, Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack"

"Will you join us, to hunt, to fight, to live and run?"

"Under the moon, I will hunt, fight, live and run with you and yours who shall be mine."

Nicolette could feel the pack magic building

"We claim you" Darryl said his sentiment echoed throughout the room as Darryl passed a small knife to Adam

"I claim you" Adam said "Alpha's flesh and blood you shall be, mine to me and mine, pack"

Adam cut a small piece of flesh from his arm and passed it to Nicolette and she had to remind herself that she was expected to eat that then her wolf helped her eat it.

"Yours to you, mine to me"

Nicolette could feel the pack bonds forming as she spoke the words that would tie her to the Columbia Basin Pack and make Adam her alpha it felt like a fire through her veins for a moment. To her surprise as the pain eased she began to feel something soothing in the bond as if some of the existing wolves were telling her to relax that they wanted her there. The wolves began to howl as soon as the ritual completed and she felt compelled to join them. Mercy gave her an encouraging smile before her coyote howl joined the wolves around her and Nicolette joined them. She had, momentarily mused at how unusual it was for a coyote to be able to freely 'sing' with wolves but this pack was unusual. She noticed the teenage girl on the stairs as the ritual ended. She figured that the howling had woke her up and wasn't surprised. She didn't think sleeping through a werewolf pack howling would be possible.

Nicolette was lying in her bed unable to sleep and her mind went over the events of the ceremony to join the pack. She had no clue what joining a pack would entail, but in her mind it was a lot more complicated than reality.

She had been grateful to Warren who sat with her and explained everything the ritual entailed, it had been a simple ritual, but to the uninitiated it seemed slightly disturbing as consuming of a bit of Adam's flesh was involved in the ritual. Going through it she had realized it wasn't nearly as bad as her brain tried to make it seem. She also learned that the same thing could be used to help her heal from life threatening injuries and secretly hoped that she would never have to experience injuries bad enough to require that.

Mercy settled into bed and was slightly surprised when Adam's arm slipped around her waist from behind her. It had taken months for her to get to a point where he could surprise her like that without her nearly jumping out of the bed or having a panic attack. Tim's actions had taken a huge toll on Mercy perceptions of what was safe and only recently was she able to shake the damage he had done to her.

She could vividly remember the first time she took that final step and had sex with Adam after her rape. She was desperate for his touch but it was obvious he was more desperate to feel her. The fairy queen had her for a full month by his perception and from what she heard from the pack it had been hard for him to deal with not knowing if he would ever see her again. When they had come together the passion had been intense and she couldn't help smile at the memory of that passionate night in Warren's guest bedroom.

"I love you, Mercy," he said sleepily into her ear,

"I love you, too." She replied.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Days pass and Nicolette felt more and more comfortable within the pack by the day and soon, with the help of some other pack members, was moving into her own studio apartment in Kennewick. She was happy with her surroundings and becoming friends with several pack members, including the girls that had found her. She soon began to join them in hunting and just spending time as girlfriends typically did.

She was also looking into a job with the Kennewick fire department as a first responder. She had to renew a few certifications but with Samuel to help her study she figured she would pass the exams easily. Her only worry was how the carnage and blood would affect her wolf, but Samuel assured her as long as she didn't go to work hungry that her wolf shouldn't be too big an issue. Either way, he and Adam continued to help her get control of her wolf before she would have to go into the field.

Samuel was reading when an excited knocking hit his ears. He recognized the scent as Nicolette and her scent was filled with excitement. He answered the door with a grin.

"I take it you passed the exams" he said with a casual smirk.

"Yes, with near perfect scores!" she replied, "I'm way too excited right now!"

"Good" Samuel smiled as she entered the house. He couldn't help feel proud of Nicolette he knew she had worked hard to get those scores and had earned the right to be happy about what she did.

"Nicolette I need your help with some things." He said as they sat down and began to settle in.

"Sure, what is it, Samuel?" she asked as they took seats in his living room.

"I need you to help me keep watch over Mercy."

"Why, Adam would kill anyone in the pack that hurt her." She said.

"It's nothing like that, Nicolette, it's this pregnancy, it's inherently high risk because he is a werewolf and all of the wolves are aware of this fact. His ex-wife had 5 miscarriages and only one successful pregnancy which gave him Jesse." Samuel sighed, "He was leery of having Mercy become pregnant for just that fact; he didn't want to put her though that and we need to help him keep watch on her medical condition. Right now her Obstetrician says she's healthy but we both know that could change at the drop of a hat we've both seen perfectly healthy women have miscarriages for no obvious reason."

"Yes, sir, I'll do what I can to monitor her condition, but Mercy is equal to the alpha I have no authority over her."

"No but you are aware of the symptoms of any major medical condition Adam should be aware of and you can bring them to his attention." Samuel pointed out "Adam listens to his pack, if you say Mercy's symptoms could mean something was wrong he'd turn to me or her obstetrician to see if there is a problem and what he can do to make her better".

"So far I've seen no symptoms that aren't extremely common for the first trimester of pregnancy." Nicolette replied, "If anything she has had an easy pregnancy so far. Very little nausea and, to my knowledge, she hasn't had any vomiting… that's not to say she hasn't vomited, it's just I haven't heard about it."

"Good, I've been monitoring her blood pressure and vitals. To date I haven't seen anything unusual there, she seems to be doing fine, but that doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels. We need to keep alert, keep monitoring until Mercy is holding an infant in her arms."

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"And future reference you don't have to call me 'sir'"

"Sorry, old habit" Nicolette replied sheepishly "I fall into the habit when I'm talking 'shop'".

Samuel chuckled he could understand the ideas of old habits.

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Time passed and Mercy's health seemed to remain a constant factor. She got into the second trimester and was shocked one morning when Bran arrived at the house. Adam had figured it would be a nice surprise for her to see the Marrok at this time, as he had been a constant in her life for so many years before they met. Mercy was even more shocked when Bran embraced her.

"I'm so happy for you." He told her. She could tell he was being genuine, but she could tell he was worried about her, the whole pack was, they had all seen the aftermath of miscarriages on the mothers who tried so hard to have these children; they didn't want her to endure that pain.

"Thank you" she returned the embrace but couldn't hide her shock, but then she had never been able to hide much from Bran.

Bran insisted she went to sit down even though Mercy had not felt so energetic since the pregnancy began. She was at the point where things had plateaued out and she was comfortable physically, but emotionally she was still a little on edge and the pack knew this.

This was her first pregnancy and her body image during this was being rattled by the weight she had gained so far. Honey had told Adam in private that she feared Mercy's self-image would only get worse as she gained pregnancy weight thus she would need Adam and any other pack to be as supportive as they ever were. She also spread word to Warren, and the few other pack members that Mercy seemed close to.

Kyle pointed out that he hadn't noticed anything that pointed towards any real insecurity on Mercy's part but he would keep watch over her. He and Warren seemed to have the most freedom of any males in the pack when it came to Mercy, as Adam was fully aware they were uninterested in Mercy as anything other than a friend. Adam was aware that if Mercy was going to be fully open to anyone in the pack besides Adam it was going to be Warren; she seemed closer to him than a lot of the others.

Adam had realized that he and Mercy hadn't heard from Stefan in the past few weeks. He hadn't thought much of it until he heard that Mercy had not seen the old vampire either, then he began to get slightly concerned.

Mercy called Stefan's house and Erin answered the phone much more promptly than had happened the last time they called during the pre-dusk hours.

"Erin, is everything okay, I haven't heard from Stefan in a few weeks." Mercy said her tone edged with concern.

"Everything is fine, Mercy." Erin replied honestly. "Stefan was talking about adding to our numbers since two people were lost. He has spent the last few weeks hunting and just recently found someone new. He usually doesn't go out a lot when he's forming the initial bond with a new person."

"Oh, okay, as long as he's okay, I was getting worried about him." Mercy admitted.

"Hold on a moment…" Erin said.

Mercy could hear a male voice in the background, the Italian accent meant it could only be Stefan.

"Stefan wishes to speak with you." Erin said.

"Isn't it a little early for him to be awake?" Mercy asked then looked out the window and realized it wasn't as early as she thought it was.

"No, here he is, bye, Mercy."

"Bye Erin…"

"Mercy… it is good to hear from you, is everything okay?" Stefan's rich voice came over the line.

"Everything is fine, Stefan, I was just concerned about you." She admitted.

"I am fine, Mercy, how is the pregnancy going?"

"It's going as well as can be expected." There was some insecurity in her voice; she hoped Stefan wouldn't notice, but he had known Mercy for too long for it to get past him.

"What is wrong, Mercedes?" he asked

"Nothing" Mercy cursed inwardly, if Stefan didn't catch that lie the moment it left her lips she would call him off his game.

"Mercedes… that is a lie and we both know it." Stefan drew out her full name to give emphasis to the fact that he knew she was lying.

Mercy let out a breath.

"Okay I'm still worried about this baby, the chances of me having a still birth are still way too high." She admitted.

"Mercy, you cannot dwell on the odds, just live one day at a time, take care of what you can and try not to worry about the things you cannot do anything about." Stefan sighed

"He's right, we can't live in fear of the might's and maybes out there" Adam added, "We have to do our best to live our lives."

"Your mate is right, relax and enjoy your time while you can. You will be very busy very soon."

To Be Continued…


	9. Chapter 9

Mercy knew her mother would be in town shortly as word had finally gotten around to her that her oldest daughter was having her first child. She knew Margi had been thrilled to learn that she had moved in with Adam and hoped that meant she would soon have grandchildren.

It had been nearly impossible to convince Margi that there were many risks involved in werewolves fathering children. That was until Bran Cornick stepped in, sat Margi down and explained the whole situation to her. This led her to finally understand why Mercy and Adam were in no hurry to have Mercy get pregnant, Adam more so than Mercy. He had watched his ex-wife Christy experience horrific pain and grief with every miscarriage and didn't want to see Mercy experience the same. Christy had become bitter due to them, not that she was a great woman to begin with.

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Margi arrived early one Saturday afternoon Jesse invited her in then went to get Adam and Mercy. Margi noticed that Jesse called them mom and dad even though she was well aware of the fact that Mercy wasn't related to the child in question.

Margi watched as Mercy took a seat, her belly telling the world that she was very pregnant.

"Mercy when were you going to tell me you were expecting?" Margi asked sounding disappointed that she hadn't been informed before her daughter reached 26 weeks pregnant. She had hoped to be one of the first people to learn of her daughter's pregnancy.

"I…" Mercy sighed, "Mom, I was worried about telling you, I know how you are… you would want to be here all the time and trust me I have enough potential nursemaids in the pack." She let out a breath and ran her hand over her stomach before continuing "Yes, I should have told you weeks ago but I wasn't sure how to."

Margi sighed seeing the distress in her daughter's expression she remembered that Bran had told her this pregnancy was risky. She was worried about her daughter, worried that she would end up suffering as many before her had.

"You have a lot to worry about Mercy," Margi sighed jadedly, "I know a werewolf pack is the kind of place where you will have more than enough support but I expect to be kept at least informed. I want to know if I have a grandson or granddaughter to welcome… speaking of I noticed Jesse calls you mom… how did that come about."

"That's a long story mom… suffice it to say she asked and after the crap her biological mother put her through I couldn't say 'no'" Mercy said.

"What would that be?"

"She wouldn't believe me when I told her that her boyfriend had molested me. I told her over and over what he was doing, down to specific details and she still called me a liar!" Jesse said, her voice weak but Margi heard it anyway and Adam could see the rage build in Margi's eyes as she stood from her chair and pulled Jesse into her arms.

It was obvious Margi was struggling for words to say to Jesse. He had seen that look on the face of several female pack members when they learned of that horror. Adam had honestly thought Auriele was going to hunt down and murder Christy when she learned of what she had allowed to happen under her roof. Then again Auriele never really liked Christy anyway, but, like so many others in the pack, she was fond of Jesse and her wolf desired to protect her as it did most of the children born into the pack. This wasn't unusual given the fact that the wolves were all too aware of the frailty of their human mates and children. Packs often gathered tightly around the children especially given that they were seen as being even more fragile than the humans that chose to mate werewolves.

Margi held onto Jesse for several minutes as she had begun to cry and Adam could hear Margi coo soft comforting words into Jesse's hair. The impact of this picture was not lost on Adam who was grateful that Jesse would have a grandmother that loved her even if it was just a step-grandmother. Christy mother had shown little interest in her granddaughter and his own mother had passed away years earlier, had she still been around Adam wasn't certain how his own mother would have reacted to Jesse, he could only hope that she would have loved her granddaughter.

It took a while for Jesse to calm down and she returned to her father who embraced her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Don't worry about it, Jesse, you won't have to deal with that ever again." he promised quietly. His senses could tell when Jesse was lying practically before she got the lie out so he would know instantly when she was telling the truth and would know if something like this happened again. If it did he would deal with it swiftly and without mercy, putting one's hands on the alpha's daughter, especially without her consent, was not something a wise wolf did.

Margi watched as Adam and Mercy tended to Jesse before the teen went to her bedroom.

"Please tell me you aren't going to let her biological mother anywhere near her after that." Margi said.

"Mom, as far as we are concerned, I am Jesse's mother now and if anyone lays a hand on her they will answer to me." Mercy replied simply "That includes Christy. I'm not going to let her hurt Jesse again. I don't care if she gave birth to her, she betrayed that girl for the last time."

Adam put a calming hand on Mercy's shoulder as he realized his mate was working herself into a major frenzy. She sat back on the couch and started to calm herself down.

Margi smiled at her daughter's response to the questions. It seemed she had formed a bond with Jesse and would make a good mother for the new baby, no matter what it is.

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A few days later Adam got word that Samuel would have his brother and sister in law in for a visit. Charles rarely went anywhere outside of Aspen Creek for things other than his job but their father insisted that he and Anna take some time to relax and he would make sure their adopted daughter SeoHyun was well cared for. They also wanted to see Mercy while they were in town so she would go spend the day at Samuel's house.

Anna and Charles arrived early Friday morning and the decision was made that they would stay until Tuesday evening before flying themselves back to Aspen Creek. Their adopted daughter was staying with Sage for those days, she and Sage had bonded as well as any aunt and niece ever did and they felt good leaving SeoHyun with Sage.

It was about ten in the morning when Mercy drove up to Samuel's home and knocked on the door. She was surprised when Anna answered it and embraced her.

"Congratulations, Mercy." She said happily.

"Thank you." Mercy said as she entered the house further. She then noticed Charles and Samuel sitting in the kitchen drinking tea. Then they heard someone come in behind Mercy that they weren't expecting and they all turned in surprise.

To Be Continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Nicolette waived sheepishly as she realized all eyes were on her. She'd had no way of knowing that Samuel would have guests over. She wasn't as worried about Mercy because she was a pack mate it was the two strangers that had caught her off guard.

"Hi, I'm Nicolette Garza," she said "I didn't know you had guests, Samuel, I'll... I'll be back later on."

She started out but Samuel stopped her by grabbing her elbow a move that amused his younger brother, though only Samuel, Anna and, to an extent, Mercy realized that fact.

"Nicolette this is my brother Charles and his wife Anna"

"It's nice to meet you" she said her expression and scent still screaming of her embarrassment of finding herself in this predicament.

Nicolette had found that she was drawn to Samuel for reasons that had little do to with their similar professions, she liked the older wolf. He was different from the wolves she had known in the past, granted she had learned that he was a lot older than any wolf she had ever known. She noticed Samuel speaking to Charles and was soon invited to join them and things slowly became less and less awkward.

She was getting to hear stories about Samuel and Mercy that she would have never known before had she not gotten into this relaxed environment with them. She also found she learned a little more about Charles than she thought she would. She had heard of the Marrok's enforcer before, she had also heard Charles' name thrown around with that title but she had never met the man in person up until that day and she quickly realized he wasn't exactly what she had expected. Sure the tall native man in front of her was plenty daunting but she knew there had to be more to him than that, especially after having met his older brother. She wondered what Charles had to hide, had to lose of himself to become the legendary enforcer that she saw in front of her. Then mention of Charles and Anna's adopted daughter came up and Nicolette was certain there was more to the man in front of her than most wolves ever knew.

Charles watched how Samuel reacted to Nicolette's discomfort in the situation and began to wonder if he might have feelings for her. He became a little surer of his initial feeling as he watched her settle in. He figured this would be good for Samuel to have a mate that was a werewolf, a mate that wouldn't age and die before his eyes while he remained youthful. Sure she could never give him children as he desired but they could always adopt, he had found it plenty rewarding to take care of SeoHyun. She had rather recently changed to calling him 'Da' instead of Charles. He was doing his best to forget the events that led up to her calling him that but he wasn't going to make her stop calling him 'Da' as, to him, it just solidified his claim to her as her father and that she was not to be messed with, that she was under his protection, she was his child in every way that mattered. It had never been something he spoke to her about so it was wholly her decision to call him that and that made it mean more to him that she chose to call him Da.

Anna could see how stressed Nicolette was and reached out with her omega powers to help her settle down which drew her attention to her.

"You… how are you doing that?" Nicolette asked.

"She's an omega." Samuel said simply, "it's a complicated term to encompass the fact that she has all the protective instincts of an alpha and none of the aggressive tendencies. They are called wolf tamers or peace bringers because of their ability to soothe even the most dominant wolves. She is also outside of the pack hierarchy meaning she can choose if she wants to listen to the orders of the Alpha or ignore them depending on her mood."  
Anna smiled at that description.

"He summed it up pretty well." Anna admitted with a smile, "if in a bit of a clunky way."

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Meanwhile: Mercy was sitting there listening to the conversations at hand; she was sometimes still shocked that Charles and Anna were taking care of a young werewolf. She had met the girl briefly when she joined the Marrok Pack. She had been stunned by how tiny the girl was and how skittish she was. She had learned from Bran that the girl, SeoHyun had begun to come out of her shell quite a bit since she joined the pack and was now good friends with Kara Beckworth. Kara was dominant so she kept close watch over SeoHyun who was submissive. She was a help to Charles when it came to keeping SeoHyun taken care of. Mercy had seen the girl more recently when they were both kidnapped by some rogue wolves affiliated with SeoHyun's former pack in San Diego, she had been stunned by how they treated her and was now unsurprised by the fact that SeoHyun had been so skittish when she first arrived in Aspen Creek. (A/N: this is in reference to the events of my story Snow Trouble. SeoHyun is introduced in my story Hidden Hearts.)

SeoHyun had made an impression on a lot of people especially since she began to open up and show that she was vibrant and hopeful for the future.  
Mercy had nearly laughed out loud when she heard SeoHyun refer to Charles as Da, the way he and Samuel referred to the Marrok, under any other circumstances she would have. She had not expected that to happen, she didn't think SeoHyun would pick that term and she really didn't think Charles would accept the mantle even if she offered it up to him. He had been adamant that he didn't want her to feel that he was trying to take her biological father's place.

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Charles looked at Mercy, her pregnancy now obvious to anyone who gave a casual glance, and understood why his father had been so worried about her. Pregnancy by a werewolf was always a risky endeavor, but the fact that she was so far along mean that a lot of the issues weren't going to be a problem for her. There were still other issues that could arise but Charles had a good feeling that everything would be okay and he had learned long ago to listen to his instincts.

"Charles, why didn't you bring SeoHyun?" Samuel asked.

"She has school, I'll bring her during the next school holiday." He replied.

"Then who is looking after her?"

"Sage with some assistance from Da," Charles replied simply "Da would keep her himself but he's afraid Leah would crush her and we just got her self-esteem built back up."

"True, Sage is good for her on that front."

Charles excused himself and his mate and they went to the hotel for the night, they would be back in the morning to catch up privately and spend more time with Samuel.

Mercy also left, she had to get to bed early because she had a doctor's appointment the next morning.

"Take care, Mercy." Anna said embracing the other woman gently.

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After everyone left Samuel turned his attention to Nicolette who had her head down submissively.

"I shouldn't have come; I interrupted your time with your brother." She started to leave but Samuel stopped her again.

"No, it's okay, I'm glad you got to meet him in such a relaxed environment, most wolves don't ever get to see him like that." Samuel countered.

"Are you sure?" she asked

"Yes, and it isn't like this is the only day I get with him." Samuel replied.

Nicolette was shocked when he hugged her but returned the embrace her. He smelled good and, while she didn't quite understand why, she felt like, if she could stay in that spot forever, she would be extremely happy. There was a tiny part of her that thought frightened, what did it mean? She didn't take the time to sort through it just yet, that could wait, right now she wanted to bask in the feeling that was Samuel's embrace.

Samuel took a deep breath of Nicolette's scent and was more than slightly surprised when his wolf began to react as if it smelled its mate. It didn't make any sense at all, had his wolf already chosen Nicolette, sure he had feelings for her but he knew so little about her history, so little about what it would mean if they did become mates with her in the pack of a less dominant male than himself.

 **To Be Continued…**


	11. Chapter 11

Nicolette continued to see Samuel as time moved forward and she began to see a huge change in him. His smiles became more lighthearted and he began to really enjoy life again, something he hadn't seemed to really do when they first met. He was an old werewolf, she had been surprised at how old, had he wanted to die? Had he been suicidal when they met and now come back to want life again? Those were questions she didn't dare ask anyone for fear of what the answer might be.

The weeks passed quickly and soon Mercy hit the 36 week mark with no complications. She was thrilled and hoping for a healthy baby. They had given up on seeing the baby's gender as he/she had found a comfortable position to get in every time they tried to look that prevented them from seeing that area. They would have to wait until the little one was born to learn that little detail.

Adam was on the road to his house when he saw an ambulance speeding the opposite direction lights on, siren blaring, this was bad. Was something wrong with Mercy, had she gone into labor prematurely? Why hadn't the pack called him yet?

His phone rang and he answered it to hear Darryl on the other end.

"Adam we just put Mercy onto an ambulance; her blood pressure spiked dangerously high and won't come back down." Darryl explained.

Adam could hear Nicolette fretting around in the background. That was the thing with Nicolette, when she got stressed out she became hyper and couldn't sit still no matter how hard she tried.

"Mary Jo is in the ambulance with her." Darryl continued.

"Okay I'm going to the hospital to be with her, Darryl can you take care of things?" Adam asked.

"Sure, no problem," Darryl replied "Warren is here as well we will keep watch over the pack, you just take care of your mate and let us know how things are going."

Adam made a U-turn and started in the direction the ambulance was going as Darryl told him which hospital they were going to in case he lost track of them.

Samuel had rushed to the ambulance admitting area when his pager went off. He didn't know exactly what to expect but when he saw Mercy on the stretcher he was shocked and horrified.

The medics told the first doctor they saw, which was mercifully not him, that she was 36 weeks pregnant and experiencing extreme high blood pressure along with lightheadedness. He felt his gut clench in fear, there was no way this was just high blood pressure, he had a bad feeling this was Pre-Eclampsia.

He went to the waiting room and greeted Adam as he arrived. He knew this was coming Adam was upset and his wolf was dangerously close to the surface, he would have to get Adam under control.

"Adam calm down, your wife is in good hands." Samuel told him firmly using some of his authority as a more dominant wolf to calm the Tri-cities alpha down

"The doctors here will take good care of her and your child." Samuel continued.

Adam settled down but it was clear he wasn't doing well, his wolf was way too close to the surface and Samuel found himself wishing that his sister-in-law, Anna was there to help him settle Adam down the way only omegas can.

A few minutes later the doctor that had been evaluating Mercy came in to the room. It had felt like hours for the anxious werewolves in the waiting room, but now they would finally get answers they so desperately wanted.

"Mr. Hauptman…" he said his smile pleasant though it didn't quite reach his eyes so both Werewolves could tell the news he had to give them wasn't going to be what they wanted to hear.

"I am Doctor Sheldon Hawkes." The doctor continued.

Samuel noticed that Sheldon only gave Adam the briefest moment of eye contact before looking away from his eyes.

"I have good news and bad news, the good news is we got her blood pressure under control, the bad news is this is Pre-Eclampsia and we will need to admit her. The fact of the matter is the only way to cure this is to deliver early. At this point she is doing okay so we won't have to deliver right away but the moment things change we will have to deliver quickly." Sheldon paused, "Though Mr. Hauptman I'm going to be honest, as far along in her pregnancy as she is if we did deliver today your child is far enough along that I don't anticipate any complications beyond a slightly low birth weight."

Adam looked as if he had been slapped in the face and Samuel watched as the younger wolf tried to remember how to breathe properly.

His mate would be okay, his child would be okay; that was what Adam kept telling himself.

"Can I go be with her?" Adam asked once he got his breathing in order and his wolf subdued.

"Of course, follow me; we will have her in a room shortly." Sheldon said giving him a pleasant smile before starting towards the back; Adam followed him doing his best to get his wolf under control as he walked. He could feel the pack at his back, ready and waiting to strike if necessary. They didn't know what was going on; word was only now getting around to those that weren't in the house when Mercy almost fainted upon standing from a chair in the kitchen.

Samuel sighed and pulled out his cell phone to call his father.

"Da, Mercy was just hospitalized." He said trying not to sound frantic.

"What happened?" Bran demanded doing his best to force his own wolf down at learning there was something wrong with his coyote. She might have married Adam but she was his before she ever met Adam.

"Da, she has Pre-Eclampsia, but at this stage in the game if they have to deliver the baby now he or she will be just fine, maybe a bit on the small side, but have no life threatening complications. They are giving her medicines to help the lungs develop now in case they do have to deliver early."

Bran forced his wolf down and started to calm down.

"I'll let Charles and Anna know what is going on with her." Bran sighed "Hopefully she gets through this."

"She will; da, you know how stubborn our little coyote is." Samuel reminded his father.

"That is true, but… I will still pray for her" Bran told him.

"That never hurt anyone." He replied "I will be as well."

Samuel got off the phone and headed back to the back, no matter how worried he was about Mercy he still had a job to do.

Charles was stunned when he learned of Mercy's medical condition. He knew his father wanted to go to the Colombia Basin to be there with her as she faced this rough patch in her life. Truth be told, from the outside, one would think that Mercy was his third child and that really didn't bother Samuel or Charles as, to look at their relationship with her, one would think they were her older brothers. The only one who seemed to have a problem with this was Leah, but then again she also had a problem with his father's relationship with them so no one really paid attention to what she thought of the issue.

"Da, I will fly you out to the Colombia Basin this evening, you don't need to be driving the way you're wolf is right now." Charles offered "Not to mention you'll get there in less than half the time by plain than by car and you know it as well as I do."

Bran glared at his son but didn't comment; he knew Charles was right as much as he wanted to argue otherwise. He wasn't safe to be behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and it was also much faster to fly there than it was to drive anyway.

"Da, can I come with you this time?" SeoHyun asked.

Charles sighed and looked at the little submissive wolf, Sage had told him that she had pouted the last time he went to see Mercy without her.

"I'm out of school all week, Da, please you said during the next school break I could go." She pointed out.

"I did," Charles conceded.

Bran sighed "You gave your word and the Colombia Basin pack will help you look after her."

"Okay, you can come, but it will probably be boring and stressful." Charles told her.

They packed and by eight at night they were in Charles' private plane and on their way to the private strip in the Colombia Basin Pack's territory.

Charles had called ahead to Adam and let him know they were coming. He said he was fine with it but it was clear that Adam was distracted so Bran made a call to Adam's second, Darryl to make sure that the pack wouldn't be caught off guard when he, Anna, SeoHyun and Charles arrived.

Darryl had been stunned when he heard what was wrong with Mercy. He knew how dangerous this condition was. Mary Jo assured him that it had been caught early enough that it could be controlled with medicine. She also said the pregnancy was far enough along that if they had to deliver early the baby would be okay.

It took a couple of hours for Bran and Charles to arrive in the Colombia Basin and they were welcomed into the Alpha's home. Where they ate and settled in to wait for news of how Mercy was doing.

Warren was trying to get Nicolette to settle down and relax but his energy wasn't very calm but Anna soon got her to settle down. She ate and soon dozed off in one of the downstairs guest bedrooms.

"Thanks for calming her down, she gets like that when she's stressed." Warren explained.

"I could tell she was stressed out, she was the one that discovered that something was going on with Mercy, wasn't she?" Anna asked.

"Yes, she was." Warren replied. "She, Mary Jo and Samuel have been monitoring Mercy's vitals since she announced she was pregnant, that's how we caught it so early."

Darryl had been caught off guard when Bran had called and told them that he was coming with his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Then someone reminded him that Bran had practically raised Mercy from the time she was an infant so it shouldn't be a surprise that he wanted to be around while Mercy was getting ready to have her baby as to him this was almost like welcoming his grandchild into the world.

Later that evening Samuel called to check in and was caught off guard when Darryl told him that his family was already there. He had expected them to drive the distance so he was surprised by how fast they had arrived.

"The drive from Aspen Creek takes way too long for them to already be here." Samuel said.

"Apparently they flew here…" Darryl told him.

"Okay, that makes sense."

Samuel shouldn't have been shocked that when the chips were down his brother flew their family out to the Tri-Cities to be there for Mercy.

That night seemed like one of the longest the Columbia Basin Alpha had seen in a long time. Mercy seemed to respond well to the medication, but the doctor warned there was a chance that wouldn't last.

To Be Continued…


	12. Chapter 12

SeoHyun could feel the stress from her alpha and Da. She understood that they were worried about Mercy so she tried to make as little fuss as she could. She was shocked when Bran came to her to see if she wanted him to set up her way back to Aspen Creek away from the horror and stress of the Tri-Cities.

She shook her head "I want to be here with mom and Da."

Bran started to protest that SeoHyun would be better off back in Aspen Creek with Sage and Asil, but SeoHyun gave him her best pout and, much to the shock of many, Bran caved. He couldn't resist his granddaughter and, to an extent, she knew it. Few knew it but he was the same way with Mercy for the longest time.

"Okay SeoHyun, you can stay." Bran sighed.

Charles shook his head as he watched his Da and daughter together. He had to do his best to hide in his chuckle at the realization that his Da rarely could say no to the little submissive he called his granddaughter. He also figured she didn't realize the kind of power she had where her grandfather was concerned otherwise she probably would have been using it to get her way far more often. Likely she realized while those tricks worked on grandpa they didn't work on Da thus decided it was best not to try for anything she knew he would say no to.

He hated that she couldn't spend the weekend at Bran's house the way she always wanted to, but they couldn't risk her with Leah. Sure she had gotten a lot stronger and her self-esteem had improved by leaps and bounds, she was still a submissive and Leah would merrily steamroller over any submissive in her territory. She also hated Charles for his relationship with Bran and Anna for being an omega so she would likely take that hatred out on SeoHyun, meaning that there would likely be a fight between her and Anna if she was ever left alone with SeoHyun.

He was trying to figure out a way that SeoHyun could get that weekend with her grandfather but so far no ideas came to mind. He was sure it would come to him eventually but he was so worried about Mercy that he could think of little else but that.

Samuel arrived at Adam's home late that night. SeoHyun was asleep on the antique fainting couch with Medea the cat curled up in the bend of her knees and a blanket gently draped over her. Charles had been surprised when he learned that a cat lived in the alpha's home given the fact that cats normally don't like werewolves, he then learned from Darryl that Medea was the exception to that rule and liked anyone/anything that would either pet or feed her, which included werewolves and vampires.

"Samuel, I hate to ask this but can she sleep at your house tonight?" Charles asked.

Samuel looked at SeoHyun then his brother.

"I don't mind, but why?" Samuel asked.

"Our hotel room isn't going to be an easy place to rest in tonight." Bran explained switching over to Welsh knowing that his sons would follow suit "I'm stressed out and it's having a bad effect on her Charles barely got her settled down enough to go to sleep and I know it's because of me. I think it would be better for her if she wasn't around my energy, plus you're kind of the reason she came here in the first place."

Samuel looked slightly surprised by that fact.

"She wants to get to know you better." Charles clarified following their father's example "She doesn't get to see you very often, Samuel."

"Like I said I don't mind her staying with me, it might even be fun." Samuel smiled slightly switching to Welsh as well.

Charles then went to wake SeoHyun up. Medea cursed at him in her own feline way as SeoHyun moved and knocked her off her comfy perch on the fainting couch then left to find another place to sleep.

"Da…" she trailed half asleep, her eyes meeting Charles' for a split second before she broke eye contact respectfully as submissives are supposed to do. She was still looking at his face but not directly into his eyes.

"How would you like to spend the night with Samuel?" Charles asked.

A bright smile crossed SeoHyun's face.

"I'd love to, can I, da, can I?" she asked excitement taking the place of her exhaustion.

"I'm fine with it; you just need to ask Samuel?"

SeoHyun turned her attention to Samuel.

"Can I spend the night with you, please?" she asked trying out the same pouty face that won her so much with Bran in hopes that Uncle Samuel would prove to have the same weakness.

Charles could have laughed aloud, she barely knew Samuel but she already had him pegged for being so much like their father.

Samuel seemed like he was thinking for a moment, drawing out the suspense for the very excited teenager.

"Yeah, you can stay with me." He replied then laughed as SeoHyun threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Samuel" she said happily.

"No problem, kiddo." Samuel laughed hugging her in return.

Charles watched Samuel's reaction to SeoHyun; he could see that something about him had changed. He seemed to be more like the Samuel he knew before he went to Texas, the Samuel that never missed recess with the town children. The one who didn't let his old age get to him.

Bran noticed the difference as well but decided it was best not to say anything to Charles until after SeoHyun and Samuel left. He didn't want to draw Samuel's attention to the change in him any more than he wanted to explain to SeoHyun that Samuel had been suicidal.

Samuel got SeoHyun's bag and her guitar, though he was surprised by the latter.

"I didn't know you played guitar." Samuel said to SeoHyun.

"I started this past Christmas." SeoHyun said "I brought it so I could practice while I'm here."

"Okay, we can practice tomorrow, I'll pull out my violin and we can play together." Samuel offered with a warm smile. He loved music and if he could foster that love in his niece he would.

They started out to Samuel's car.

"I wanted to ask you something." She said as he put her things in the trunk then opened the door for her.

"What's on your mind?" Samuel asked.

"Would you mind if I called you 'Uncle Samuel'?" she asked.

Samuel was slightly taken aback by that question he knew she called Charles 'Da' but hadn't expected her to want to call him 'uncle'.

"I'd love it," he replied as he got into the car himself. "I noticed you don't refer to my Da as your grandfather, is there a reason for that?"

"I do, back in Aspen Creek, I just thought we'd get odd looks around here."

"Among werewolves and werewolf families you don't need to worry about it, they all know Da is an old wolf and wouldn't be surprised if he had a grandchild or two running around that are a lot older than you are." Samuel explained as they pulled into his driveway.

They went inside, had dinner, and then went to bed.

The next day Samuel was off for the day so he planned to spend it playing music and getting to know his niece, SeoHyun. Samuel was surprised by her to say the least, she was so different from Charles it was shocking, but he figured that was why they got along so well, they were different, extremely so.

SeoHyun was a submissive and not only did she let Charles relax in that he knew that she respected his pack position, she also gave him a way to channel his protective instincts in taking care of her. It was no secret she felt safe with Charles, she thought of him as a father, going sp far as to even call him "Da".

He was working with her on a few advanced cords she was having trouble with that afternoon when his phone rang.

"Samuel Cornick" he answered not looking to see who called.

"Samuel, I'm calling on behalf of Mercy and Adam Hauptman, are you sitting down, I've got some bad news." Sheldon said.

To Be Continued...


	13. Chapter 13

Samuel was stunned by what Sheldon told him. Mercy's condition had deteriorated over the past few hours to the point where they had no choice but to deliver the baby via C-section or risk losing her and the child. He felt dread rise in him as he heard those words. He knew his Da wasn't taking this very well and he could only hope that Adam could control his wolf well enough to be of any use at all to Mercy.

Samuel looked at SeoHyun he knew that she heard everything that was happening, she was a werewolf there was no way she didn't, and the tension was coming from her tie to his Da and brother. That made him wish he had sway over her so he could try to override his father's stress with his own calm. He got off the phone and hugged her to himself gently, he knew feeling her alpha stressed out without a thing she could do was hard on SeoHyun. He knew if he called his Da and told him what was happening he would do something to keep his energy from affecting her.

"Everything is going to be okay." He assured her.

"Uncle Samuel, are you lying to me?"

"No,"

"It smells a little like you are." She informed him but that didn't stop her from cuddling in so her head slipped under his chin.

Samuel could have face palmed at that; she was Charles' daughter of course she would catch on to the fact that he was telling half-truths for her benefit.

"This is bad, but Mercy is strong and stubborn, she'll be okay."

Samuel called Bran and told him what was happening and Samuel noticed her calm down. He didn't know what Bran did, he was just glad it helped. SeoHyun didn't need to be that stressed out.

Adam was sitting beside Mercy's he's as they performed the operation to save her and the baby. He could see that Mercy was upset and did his best to stay calm for her sake. She was in tears, terrified for herself and her baby. Adam leaned close to her and wiped the tears from her eyes as a warm sound came from his throat at a level only the two of them could hear, he knew she felt this was somehow her fault, she had done everything right but yet still there they were in the operating room waiting to meet their child several weeks early. He tried to project calm and love through their mate bond, he wanted to let her know that she was okay and he was right there for her.

Suddenly, after what seemed like an eternity the sounds of a new infant crying cut through the air. It was loud and full of new life and energy

"It's a boy!" Someone announced holding the baby up so he and Mercy could see him.

Adam could feel the joy and relief through their mate bond from Mercy and echoed it back to her, they were parents to a small but healthy looking baby boy.

"Do we have a name for him?" A female nurse asked.

Adam looked at Mercy, they had spoken of names in the past and narrow the options down to two but hadn't settled on one at that point.

"Bryan..." Adam replied, Mercy had really pushed for that name, Adam had been against it at first, but over time it grew on him. It had been her foster father's name and she had loved him dearly.

Adam went to cut the cord as they finished up the surgery. When asked about a middle name they told the nurses that the middle name would be Alexander, which was also Adam's middle name.

They checked his length and weight and he was eighteen inches long and weighed in at five pounds two ounces. He was a little small but very healthy.

Everyone was relieved to hear that Mercy and the baby would be okay. They had been terrified they were going to lose her and the alpha's son. Several pack members had been in the waiting room as the operation took place and were relieved when a lullaby began to play over the intercom signifying the birth of a new baby. A while later Adam came to them and announced that Mercy had given birth to a five pound two ounce baby boy.

That night Mercy found herself quite sore and bruised from the surgery but the ability to look down and see her hours old baby boy in her arms made it all worth it.

Bran stepped in about eight thirty that evening and gently hugged Mercy.

"You did good, little wolf." He said proudly.

Mercy thanked him and handed him the infant boy to hold. Bran sat in a chair and ran a gentle finger along the side of Bryan's cheek.

"What did you end up naming him?" Bran asked.

"Bryan Alexander Hauptman" she replied deciding to give Bran his full name.

"Bryan would have loved him." Bran observed.

During the night Stefan somehow managed to negotiate a visit with her and to congratulate her and meet the baby.

"He is very hansom." Stefan observed "He looks a lot like his father."

She had gotten that a lot that Bryan looked a lot like Adam and it was true he did, and really Mercy didn't mind that, Adam was a handsome man and if his son turned out to be as handsome as his father that would be great.

"He does," she was exhausted and Stefan could tell.

"Get some rest, Mercedes, I will come visit you once you get home." Stefan said then came to give her a gentle hug

After Stefan left Mercy fed Bryan and started to go back to sleep when she noticed a strange spirit forming the corner of the room, it was a native American male much like she had seen on her honeymoon then he became clearer and her heart nearly sputtered to a halt, it was her father, Joe. He was performing the same dance he had that day, the one that proclaimed to the spirits "look what I have created in this world" but really it was more "look what my daughter has done, what she has made."

She wasn't sure if Bryan would inherit her shapeshifting abilities, they would know that when he got a little older, either way she was happy with the son she was given no matter if he possessed her ability to turn into a coyote or not.

She watched as Joe faded away.

"I wish I could have known you." She muttered; then went to sleep.

The next morning she woke to the sound of her former boss Siebold "Zee" Adelbertsmiter entering the room.

"Good morning _libeling_ , I did not mean to wake you." He said gently as he walked over to embrace her.

"It's ok." She replied "I'm just glad to see you."

Zee looked into the crib at the new baby boy.

"He is quite handsome," Zee observed.

"I agree." Mercy replied with a soft smile.

"What did you name him?"

"Bryan,"

"Bryan Adamson," Zee said true naming the child as no one had done prior. "I am sure you and Adam are both extremely proud."

"We are."

Mercy watched as the old gremlin lifted the newborn from his crib and walked over to stand next to Mercy.

"He is a lucky little guy, the son of the werewolf alpha will get a lot of respect within the pack structure." He observed "Not that his daughter does not, but she gets hers in a different way, she is seen as special, and in need of an extreme level of protection even now as she comes into young adulthood. She is a rare prize and, if you notice; none of his wolves have shown interest in her… not that she isn't a lovely girl, but she is the alpha's daughter and they watched her grow from infancy so to them she is still a child."

"She complains that she gets treated like a child all the time, but right now she's in a fragile state, she needs that coddling as much as she would protest it."

Mercy sighed as Zee's face fell.

"I wish I could have helped more that day, she didn't deserve what happened to her." He sighed

"Zee, she's getting better, Gabriel has been trying his best to look after her and… and I think maybe he will be the one to help her find herself again."

"Gabriel is a good kid, he will be good for her."

Mercy brought Bryan home a few days later to find that the pack had set up the room for Bryan. She was shocked at how the pack responded to Bryan, but he did smell of her and, more importantly, Adam, their alpha as he was his son.

That night they celebrated Bryan's homecoming with a feast as many of the pack feared that he would not come home at all. They were celebrating his life, his health and hers as they had feared for them when the Pre-Eclampsia set in.

Samuel had assured Adam that Pre-Eclampsia was common in first pregnancies and just because she had it once didn't necessarily mean she would get it again as every pregnancy was different.

At the end of the week Bran, Charles and SeoHyun went back to Aspen Creek so SeoHyun could go back to school that Monday morning. She had been reluctant to leave as she wanted to spend more time with Samuel, but Samuel told her that they would see each other again. Unbeknownst to her Samuel and Charles had gotten their heads together and decided that SeoHyun could spend part of her summer vacation with Samuel in Washington if she wanted to. She had also started to get to know and get along with Jesse Hauptman so that would also give her time to spend making a new friend.

Leah went into Bran's office a few weeks later and screamed at the sight that greeted her. It was a photo of Mercy in profile view holding up little Bryan so she could kiss him on the forehead.

Bran had to fight to keep from laughing aloud at that reaction, but he would laugh at it when he recounted the story to his sons and Mercy herself later that evening.

 **The End!**


	14. Alternate Ending

Samuel was stunned by what Sheldon told him. Mercy's condition had deteriorated over the past few hours to the point where they had no choice but to deliver the baby via C-section or risk losing her and the child. He felt dread rise in him as he heard those words. He knew his Da wasn't taking this very well and he could only hope that Adam could control his wolf well enough to be of any use at all to Mercy.

Samuel looked at SeoHyun he knew that she heard everything that was happening, she was a werewolf there was no way she didn't, and the tension was coming from her tie to his Da and brother. That made him wish he had sway over her so he could try to override his father's stress with his own calm. He got off the phone and hugged her to himself gently, he knew feeling her alpha stressed out without a thing she could do was hard on SeoHyun. He knew if he called his Da and told him what was happening he would do something to keep his energy from affecting her.

"Everything is going to be okay." He assured her.

"Uncle Samuel, are you lying to me?"

"No,"

"It smells a little like you are." She informed him but that didn't stop her from cuddling in so her head slipped under his chin.

Samuel could have face palmed at that; she was Charles' daughter of course she would catch on to the fact that he was telling half-truths for her benefit. He rested his cheek against the top of his niece's head before he continued speaking.

"This is bad, but Mercy is strong and stubborn, she'll be okay."

Samuel called Bran and told him what was happening and Samuel noticed her calm down. He didn't know what Bran did, he was just glad it helped. SeoHyun didn't need to be that stressed out.

Adam was sitting beside Mercy's he's as they performed the operation to save her and the baby. He could see that Mercy was upset and did his best to stay calm for her sake. She was in tears, terrified for herself and her baby. Adam leaned close to her and wiped the tears from her eyes as a warm sound came from his throat at a level only the two of them could hear, he knew she felt this was somehow her fault, she had done everything right but yet still there they were in the operating room waiting to meet their child several weeks early. He tried to project calm and love through their mate bond, he wanted to let her know that she was okay and he was right there for her.

Suddenly, after what seemed like an eternity the sounds of a new infant crying cut through the air. It was loud and full of new life and energy. The doctors began to scramble.

"What's wrong?" Adam demanded.

Seconds later the sound of a second baby hit the air and Adam couldn't believe his ears, twins.

"We have a boy and a girl" the doctor announced.

"What... twins..." Mercy asked the shock overwhelming her.

"Yes ma'am, opposite gender twins." the doctor confirmed

She looked at Adam who looked dumbfounded.

They quickly settled on the names Brian Alexander and Briana Marie for the two newborns. The babies were rushed to the NICU to be looked over as they closed up the incision. Adam left the room to announce to his pack that they had twins.

The members that were there were stunned as were all of the Cornick family members. They had thought this whole time that Mercy was just having one baby, they didn't understand how no one figured out that it was two until during the C-section surgery.

Adam was pacing the floor when word came to them that the twins were small at about 4 pounds each but they were otherwise healthy. Late that evening they went to see the twins for the first time and were informed that they didn't anticipate the babies having to stay in the hospital very long.

Bran was in the room when Adam and Mercy returned.

"Congratulations, my beautiful coyote." He said as he hugged Mercy gently in his arms "I can't believe it… twins."

"I know I was shocked too, you would think with the wolves able to hear their heartbeats we would have realized Briana was there."

"Their pulse might have been so close to synced it was impossible to tell that there was more than one infant there." Bran reasoned.

"He's right; that is very possible." Adam agreed.

"Either way they're here, they're healthy, and that's all that matters." Mercy interjected.

"She's right." Bran agreed.

The staff set up a schedule where she could supplement the twins' formula with her own breast milk to better their immune systems and give them the best chance possible.

Later that evening Mercy was shocked when Stefan arrived to visit her. She knew visiting hours were long over, how had he negotiated his way in. She knew that he had the power to convince people to do what he wanted very easily given the fact that he was a vampire.

"Hi Stefan," Mercy said with a tired smile.

"I hear you had twins." He said a smile on his face.

"Yes, they were small so they're still in the NICU, depending on how they handle tonight they could be out of there as soon as tomorrow afternoon." Mercy sounded happy about the prospect of her babies being out of the NICU and with her."

"Get some rest, Mercedes, you will need it." Stefan advised before giving her a hug and saying goodbye.

The next morning Mercy woke to see Siebold "Zee" Adelbertsmiter sitting by her bed holding a bundle she recognized as one of her two newborn children.

"Good morning, _libeling_." He said with a smile "Congratulations"

Mercy barely held back the 'thank you' that almost came out but Zee could see the gratitude in her expression

"I saw the babies, they are so beautiful, what are their names?"

"Bryan and Briana"

After a few days the young family was finally cleared to go home and, much to their surprise Nicolette and a few other wolves stepped up to attempt to help them care for the newborn twins when they were at their most needy.

"I can't believe we had not one but two babies." Mercy reflected as they settled in for the night.

"Me either, but… they're here and they will be loved always," Adam replied.

The End.


End file.
